The Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority will offer reduced tap and impact fees to residents in the Roundtop and Mt. Pisgah Road areas while a water main is being extended in that part of the county.
Water board members adopted the temporary fees when meeting Monday, Aug. 29.
“This phase of the project is designed to give existing residents on Roundtop and Mt. Pisgah Road access to the public water system if they so desire to connect to the system,” said Gary McVey, water authority director. “This particular area of the county is known for low-yielding wells, and many wells have an iron and manganese issue. This is for Gilmer County residents in this area to have access to clean potable water.”
For now, only residents who live on Roundtop or Mt. Pisgah Road are eligible for the special fee structure, McVey noted. The following revisions will be honored until the water main construction is finished:
﹣ Water tap fee for eligible residents will be waived. That fee is currently $1,065.
﹣ Water impact fee for eligible residents will be reduced to $25. That fee is currently $610.
Eligibility requirements include:
﹣ Applicant must be an existing resident with an existing home. Water meters won’t be installed on vacant land.
﹣ Does not include new construction. Water taps for new homes will be charged at the water authority’s standard fee structure.
﹣ For residential water meters only. Fees for all nonresidential applications will be charged at the standard rates.
A $100 deposit and a $25 connection fee will still be required for the new water taps, confirmed McVey. New customers will also be responsible for making the connection between the water meter and their home, he added.
The special fee structure went into effect Sept. 1. Construction on the water main could take 10-12 months, and the fee reductions will only be in place until it is complete, McVey noted.
Once the water main has been extended, it will also give the water authority the ability to establish another system interconnection with Pickens County, McVey confirmed.
“We will need to construct some additional infrastructure, possibly as another phase to the project, in order to have the ability to adequately supply water to another community,” he added.
In other news:
Board members Mike Gibbs, Hubert Parker, Billy Rowe, Tony Whitaker and Don Callihan also approved the following items:
﹣ A $52,095 expense for replacing a media filter control panel at the wastewater treatment plant. The control panel now in use has become obsolete and is no longer supported by the manufacturer, McVey noted.
﹣ An 18-foot and 20-foot equipment trailer for $18,140 total.
﹣ A $7,997 expense to replace pipe and fittings for newly-installed RAS (Return Activated Sludge) pumps at the wastewater plant. Abrasive sludge has eroded the piping over its 14-year lifespan, McVey said.
﹣ An amount not to exceed $25,000 for repair and replacement of the roof on a blower building at the wastewater plant.
﹣ Post-approval for $62,570 to pave Merk Davis Road, where the wastewater plant is located, and the wastewater plant drive. Colditz Trucking, of Blairsville, was paving Turniptown Road for the county and agreed to pave the road and let the water authority purchase asphalt for the paving directly from the supplier. McVey said that brought down the total paving price.
﹣ A $73,545 amendment for budget overages at the wastewater plant, which McVey said has experienced “much of the same unforeseen price increases” as the water authority this year.
﹣ A $26,962 expense for cleaning sludge material from a clarifier at the wastewater plant. A different company had been previously hired for less, but the labor intensive project proved to be more than the company had anticipated, said McVey.